[AT] Yard Man mower 1 year update

[Steve W.]

Figure that between MTD, Electrolux (American Yard products/Husqvarna)
and Murray almost all the smaller L&G stuff is covered. There are a few
other minor players but those three take the top. I was talking to a
Deere dealer the other day and he was saying that the newer Deere L&G
stuff was MTD built now.  Until you get into the big stuff you find most
of their line is not made by them.

Steve Williams

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry D. Goss" <rlgoss at evansville.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'"
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 11:32 PM
Subject: RE: [AT] Yard Man mower 1 year update


> FWIW, one of the things I never found the time to do when I was
working
> as L&G Service Supervisor was to actually count the number of brands
> that are produced by MTD.  It's well over 100 -- probably closer to
500.
> I'm sure that if you contacted them you could have your very own brand
> and logo put on one, Farmer.  Hey, just think -- here's a good use for
> those heraldry shields we all come across in genealogy.  Take the
family
> crest and have an MTD mower made for it.
>
> You got the snow.  We just got the blow!  I lost a 30-inch cherry tree
> in the back yard and am scrambling to see if I can't interest some
local
> wood people in clearing it for the lumber.  They lifted a "smallish"
> limb off the neighbor's barn yesterday afternoon with a sky hook and I
> heard the crane operator tell the rest of the crew that it weighed
1800
> pounds.  At that rate, the main trunk of the tree has to be around 5
> tons or better.
>
> Larry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Indiana
> Robinson
> Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:33 AM
> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> Subject: [AT] Yard Man mower 1 year update
>
> Weather note: I recall a wooden (with glass tube) thermometer
> that my folks had that
> said (from memory) "What a blamed infernal thing this pesky weather
is.
> First it blew,
> then it snew and now by jing its friz"... Its been that kind of week
> after being quite
> warm for a while. Raining at the moment.
>
> I thought a few might be interested in a one year update on the
> Yard Man (MTD built)
> lawn tractor I bought new last spring. Some may recall that I said
then
> that as a past
> lawnmower / small engine mechanic I had been a long time non believer
in
> the stuff like
> MTD, Murry etc. stamped out cheap mowers. I had gotten to looking and
> decided that MTD
> had grown up a lot especially if you moved up a few models from the
> bottom of the pile. I
> had talked to several owners that were quite happy. I last bought a
> brand new mower back
> about 1966 and had since been buying older better line tractors and
> fixing them up. Last
> spring when the deck on my old Wheel Horse was having a total nervous
> break down due to
> the patches being 4 patches deep and still coming apart I bit the
bullet
> and bought a 20
> HP Yard Man from Wally World. I wanted something ready to go out and
mow
> without
> repairing it first. I started looking at the $999 special and moved up
a
> couple of steps
> to the 2 cylinder with the cast iron front axle model. IIRC I paid
about
> $1300 for it.
> We have used it very heavy now for a year and I am happy to
> report that it has been
> absolutely great. It has been almost completely trouble free. I said
we
> used it heavy...
> We mowed about 6 - 7 acres with it and last year we were cutting a lot
> of tough old stuff
> that had only been bush-hogged in the past. There were some areas and
> lots that last
> spring were as tall as the hood of the tractor and a lot of the yard
was
> over the front
> tires before we bought the tractor. That kind of mowing was really
tough
> on the deck belt
> and I wore one out last year. I also replaced one tiny spring on the
> deck. I must buy it
> a set of blades this year as we have about worn the originals to a
> frazzle. The cutting
> edges are not all that bad but running all of that rough material
> through it has worn the
> paddles off of the top of the back edge so it does not throw out the
> grass quite as
> aggressively in this wet weather. Everything else seems to be just
like
> it was when we
> bought it. I forget how many "name brands" are now produced by MTD but
> it is a lot of
> them. Troy-Bilt for one. I think Cub-Cadet too. Lots of store brands
too
> like Huskee
> (TSC) etc.
> I had planned to just keep this one one year then buy a new one
> and sell this one. I
> looked it over this spring and can't find a reason to replace it.
Maybe
> next year... At
> this point I would buy another like it in a flash. I recently looked
at
> the model that
> replaced this one and I believe it has 2 more HP and an improved seat
> adjustment. My
> daughter in TN just bought a new one (with the Troy-Bilt name) last
> week. Hers came from
> Lowes.
> One note. I do not consider this a load pulling/snow plow
> tractor except for maybe a
> small cart. If pulling is in your needs give that careful
consideration.
> I know some will never buy an MTD built product (though a few
> may have and not known it)
> and others are stuck on one brand or one color. That is fine. I just
> posted this for some
> that have maybe been looking and wondering and maybe don't have quite
as
> deep of pockets
> available to them as others...
>
> What else can I say, I'm happy with it.   :-)
>
> -- 
> "farmer", Esquire
> At Hewick Midwest
>       Wealth beyond belief, just no money...
>
> Paternal Robinson's here by way of Norway (Clan Gunn), Scottish
> Highlands,
> Cleasby Yorkshire England, Virginia, Kentucky then Indiana. In America
> 100
> years
> before the revolution.
>
>
> Francis Robinson
> Central Indiana USA
> robinson at svs.net
>
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